


The nosy cashier (is actually kind of cute)

by crumbleduppieceofpaper



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, also called, grocery store au, modern day AU, more specifically - Freeform, nosy cashier AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:19:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7432464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crumbleduppieceofpaper/pseuds/crumbleduppieceofpaper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’ll see you later,” Lexa says and she turns around to show Clarke a teasing grin, “Can’t stop making my favorite cashier’s day, can I?”</p><p>or</p><p>Clarke is the nosy cashier at Lexa's local grocery store.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. first meetings

Clarke is three hours into her shift when she shows up again. The cute girl with the wavy, brown hair and the green-gray eyes.

Clarke had noticed her from the first time she’d shown up to the supermarket, three months ago. Back then, Clarke had only been working this job for about a month and had been hating the job for exactly that period of time.

Being a cashier was not a fun job. It was easy money, yes, but not having to do anything was both a pro and a con. As lazy as Clarke was, she also hated sitting on her ass for five hours straight while chatting to people who were rude to her. On her second day, a woman had actually yelled at her about the price of a can of beans. Of course said woman hadn’t listened when Clarke had tried to explain she wasn’t the one who made the rules.

It had been a long shift when the girl came to her counter. After Clarke had put up the “this cash register is closing” sign, she looked up and noticed a cute girl standing in front of her.

“I’m sorry, I was actually just about to close up,” Clarke told the girl. The usual reaction she got when telling people this was a scoff or a rant about how millennials weren’t willing to work for their money. As if it wasn’t the customer’s fault that they came in 2 minutes before Clarke’s shift ended.

However, the girl just frowned, not in an unfriendly matter but rather a confused one, and said, “Oh, sorry” before turning around to look at the other cash register. Clarke, pleasantly surprised, followed her line of sight to the other checkout and saw John Murphy, the other cashier, sitting behind it. Or rather lying behind it – he appeared to be sleeping.

Clarke rolled her eyes. Typical.

“Y’know what, I’m sure I can close up a little later. Just put your stuff here,” Clarke said, gesturing to her counter. The girl nodded gratefully as she started unpacking her basket on Clarke’s counter.

Clarke tried not to pay too much attention to the products she was scanning. She always felt like a creep, knowing exactly what which customer purchased, as if she was invading their privacy or something. So instead, she just scanned each product quickly and then watched the girl as she paid.

Clarke couldn’t deny that the woman in front of her was pretty. She was in formal wear, wearing a blouse over a skirt, but the way she wore her blouse, tucked into her skirt and slightly hanging over the edge of it, made it look cute. Her hair was in long, brown waves and her lips were a light shade of pink. She didn’t smile much, but somehow that didn’t make her look boring or mean. She just looked beautiful. In a classic kind of way. Clarke thought she could’ve been one of the subjects in the paintings Clarke was studying.

Clarke only realized she was staring when she was awoken by the sound of the receipt being printed. The girl was watching her with a small smirk on her face, obviously aware of the fact that Clarke had been staring. Clarke blushed as she handed the woman before her the receipt. Their hands brushed and Clarke blushed even harder, looking down at her counter while the girl packed up her things.

“Have a good day,” Clarke said when the girl was about to leave. It was something standard she had to say to every customer, but she found that this time, she actually meant it.  

The girl, who had already been on her way to the door, turned around to shoot Clarke a smile.

“You too,” she said in a soft voice.

 

 

 

That was the first and last time Clarke actually exchanged a moment with the girl. The moment she’d first met the girl, it had almost been the end of Clarke’s shift and the store was about to close, so there hadn’t been much customers besides her.

Nowadays, the girl usually comes in during rush hour when Clarke has to be quick and try not to make the customers behind her wait. Clarke knows all too well that if she lets the line get too long, she’ll either get shit from the customers or from her manager. So Clarke doesn’t really have the time to say anything more than “Good day!”, “would you like a receipt?” and “Have a nice day!”. However, Clarke always smiles at the girl and the girl always smiles back.

 

 

 

The girl is back in the store and, even though the line at Murphy’s counter is shorter, Clarke notices her getting in line behind Clarke’s customers. She wonders whether the girl consciously made the choice to go to Clarke’s counter over Murphy’s or she just didn’t see that Murphy’s line was shorter. Clarke quickly scans the products of the customers in front of her and smiles when her eyes finally land on the woman’s.

“Good afternoon,” she says with a smile.

“Hey,” the girl replies. She doesn’t smile, but Clarke is used to it by now. She knows the girl barely ever smiles. However, she can usually make up from her body language that she isn’t entirely indifferent to Clarke’s company. Her shoulders usually sag a little when she arrives at the cash register and sometimes she even leans her elbows on the counter when she’s grabbing her credit card. Her eyes are always friendly too; not cold or bored like most people who visit the store.

Clarke looks at the line of customers behind the girl and sighs. She’s been trying to get herself to string up a conversation for weeks, but how can she do that when there’s a bunch of thirty year-olds breathing down her neck?

She scans the products quickly and watches as the girl struggles to pack up her things as quick as Clarke scans the products. Usually, she’d be annoyed at how slow people are at putting their products in their bags, but this time she finds it endearing to see the girl try to pack them up in a record time. She uses the linen bag she brought to its full extent; skillfully, she fits a product into every free space, while still trying to keep up with Clarke’s speed. It’s not easy and Clarke sees her panic a little. 

“Take your time,” she reassures the girl, who looks up at her and nods, some of the panic disappearing from her face.

When the girl is done, she sighs and brushes her hair over her shoulder. Clarke catches a glimpse of a tattoo in her neck. It seems like an intricate design, a collection of marks and symbols. Clarke tries her best not to stare and looks away quickly when the girl looks up from her wallet.  

“See you,” the girl says with a smile as soon as she’s done paying. Clarke just smiles and waves like a loser, speechless.

 _Idiot_ , she tells herself later. She swears she can hear John Murphy laughing from behind his counter.

 

 

 

One night, she actually manages to string up a conversation. She’s been working a long day and at this point, she is so exhausted she feels one half sleep drunk, one half energized from the fact that she’s so tired. That is probably why she actually has the guts to start flirting.

The girl had stopped by in the afternoon, but it had been so busy that Clarke hadn’t had the chance to say anything but a hello and a goodbye, so she’s pleasantly surprised when the girl stops by again in the evening.

She catches the girl’s eye just as she walks into the store. The woman smiles at her surprised face and waves awkwardly. Clarke thinks it’s adorable.

She mentally prepares herself for when the girl is done shopping. The store is almost empty. It’s just her, Murphy and her manager working in the back – now is the time to ask the brunette’s name. She’s been dying to know for a while and now is her chance.

By the time the girl is done shopping, which, Clarke notes, is sooner than usual, Clarke has come up with a few ways to casually start a conversation. She’s usually really good at talking to pretty girls, but given the fact she’s been trying to string up a conversation for weeks, it seemed like a good plan to prepare. However, when the girl actually arrives at her checkout and smiles at her, Clarke blurts out the most stupid thing she could’ve blurted out.

“Did you miss me so much you had to buy groceries twice?”

She mentally slaps herself. She’s crossed the line now. Nosy cashier? It happens. Flirty cashier? Not cool at all. It wouldn’t surprise her if this was the last time the cute girl visits the supermarket. Or at least the last time she takes her stuff to Clarke’s counter.

However, the girl smiles as she loads her groceries onto the counter.

“Do you like me so much that you actually keep score of how many times I come around here?” she shoots back and it makes Clarke grin with relief.

“Definitely. You lighten up my day.”

“Is that so, Clarke?”

Clarke holds her breath at the way the girl says her name. Of course there had been customers before who had taken advantage of the name tag on her chest, but most of them either used it as an excuse to check out her breasts or said her name in a slur that made her wish she’d never been called Clarke in the first place. This girl, however, pronounces the last k in a way that makes Clarke’s name sound special.

 _Stop gasping and b_ _e cool, Griffin,_ she tells herself.

She nods, “Yeah, totally.”

The girl nods and the corners of her lips curl slowly in a knowing smile, as if she can hear what’s going on inside Clarke’s head.

“Good. I can imagine there’s not much that actually lightens your day when you’re a cashier.”

Clarke fakes an indignant gasp and presses a hand to her chest to express her faux surprise.

“I will have you know this is a very interesting job.”

The girl raises an eyebrow.

“Is it?”

Clarke nods, “Definitely. Scanning products all day. I couldn’t find a better way to come up with my tuition money.”

“You’re going to college?” the girl asks, this time sounding interested rather than flirtatious. Clarke looked up and saw, to her surprise, that the woman’s interest was genuine.

“Yeah. I mean, as long as I can still pay it.”

“That’s impressive.”

“What, aren’t you going to college?” Clarke asks, eyeing the girl’s formal wear. There was no way someone dressed so formally didn’t at least go to college.

“I am, but I don’t pay my own tuition money. It’s impressive that you would work to do so,” the girl compliments her, while watching Clarke scan her products.

Clarke’s never been good at accepting compliments, so she just shrugs it off, “Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.”

The girl nods. The conversation falls silent, but it’s not an awkward kind of silence. Clarke wonders how she feels so comfortable with a girl she barely even knows when most days, she doesn’t know how to be around her mom for more than a few hours.

“What do you study?” the girl asks while she hands Clarke a ten dollar bill. Clarke opens the cash register and slips the note in.

“Art.”

“Interesting,” comes the reply, sounding genuine.

“Yeah, it is,” Clarke says with a smile. She hands the girl her change and watches as she packs her groceries in the same linen grocery bag she always brings.

“Hey, not to be nosy or anything, but can I know your name?” she asks when the girl is finished packing. There probably are a million way less awkward ways to ask for someone’s name, but the girl was about to walk out of the grocery store and Clarke panicked.

The girl smiles as she reaches her hand out over Clarke’s counter and says, “I’m Lexa” as soon as Clarke shakes it.

“I’m Clarke,” Clarke replies, always the idiot.

“I know,” Lexa says, eyeing Clarke’s name tag.

“Oh, right.”

Lexa smiles, “Pleasure to meet you, Clarke.”

“Likewise,” Clarke stumbles out as Lexa squeezes her hand quickly and then lets go.

“I’ll see you later,” Lexa says and she turns around to show Clarke a teasing grin, “Can’t stop making my favorite nosy cashier’s day, can I?”

“That would be too cruel,” Clarke grins back. Lexa smiles one last time and makes her way out of the store.

“Well, I’ve never seen you be that much of a train wreck before,” Clarke hears Murphy say. She rolls her eyes but blushes. He’s probably right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all don't know how hard it was not to write "the girl" like a 100 times this chapter. i hate when characters don't know the other's name yet.
> 
> anyway, this is a fun little side thing that i wrote a while ago. it will get juicier, i promise. i've also already finished it, so i will be updating it regularly (maybe once every two weeks, no promises though) and i will also most definitely be finishing "piss off your parents, date me to scare them", so if you're reading that one as well, don't worry.
> 
> please leave me kudos and/or comments if you liked this, it's very good for my bruised ego. 
> 
> thank you for reading! <3


	2. parties and aftermath

Clarke starts enjoying her job more. She's still tired after long days of college, but instead of having to mentally prepare herself for work after, she usually looks forward to working. She often walks in with a smile and greets Murphy with an excited wave of her hand. Murphy usually either ignores her or fake-pukes, which just makes her grin more.

The things that used to be the most annoying about her job have now become her favorite things: she loves that she gets to sit behind the check register when it's quiet, now often bringing a sketchbook along to doodle, and she makes small talk with customers instead of rolling her eyes at them in private.

It all makes her life just a tiny bit easier and Clarke wonders if it has something to do with Lexa.

Lexa has been coming in more frequently lately. She used to just come in for grocery shopping once a week, but now she definitely stops by every day and some days, she comes in twice.

On moments when Clarke is feeling really confident, she swears Lexa forgets to buy raisins just so she has an excuse to see Clarke again. On less confident moments, Clarke thinks it's just a coincidence. However, she does always know for sure that there is something going on here.

How can she not know, when Lexa's eyes hold a spark when she greets Clarke?

How can she not know, when Lexa bites her lip and checks Clarke out when she thinks Clarke is busy scanning her groceries?

How can she not know, when Lexa fiddles with the cash from her wallet and takes more time to hand it to Clarke than is usual, their hands brushing in the exchange of money?

Clarke _does_ know, and she enjoys it. She loves shooting Lexa a quick wink and seeing her cheeks turning pink or smiling flirtatiously at Lexa when there's no one else in line and it feels private enough to use a voice lower than usual.

Yeah, Clarke really likes to see Lexa get worked up. But more than that, she likes it when Lexa flirts back.

Sometimes, Lexa raises her eyebrows at Clarke and makes a comment so bold it makes Clarke stumble over her words. Sometimes, Lexa knows exactly how to spin Clarke around her finger and then leave the store with a quick wave as if she hadn't just had Clarke in the palm of her hand.

Clarke wouldn’t have it any other way.

  

 

 

"Hello Clarke."

Clarke looks up from the sketch book she's hidden strategically behind her cash register, recognizing the voice immediately. She hadn't even noticed Lexa walk into the store. It was very quiet in the store today, so she'd been sitting behind the register sketching all afternoon.

"Hey," she says, feeling a grin start to take over her face. She can't deny that Lexa looks incredibly hot today. It's very warm outside, so Lexa is wearing only a tank top and shorts, showing off her toned legs. Clarke sees a glimmer of sweat on Lexa's bicep and swallows. Lexa notices, but doesn't say anything. She places her hands on the cash register and leans forward. Clarke doesn't know whether she does it on purpose, to draw Clarke's attention to her cleavage, but it definitely works.

"What're you doing?" Lexa asks curiously, craning her neck to see the sketch book. Clarke is trying too hard to look away from Lexa's collarbones to be answering any sort of question right now.

"Drawing during office hours," Lexa says with a teasing smirk, "how bad you are."

Clarke's stomach flips at Lexa's light flirtation and she decides to throw in a comment herself.

"You don't know the half of it," she says with a quick wink. Lexa does a cute duck with her head and smiles in a shy way that has Clarke's heart melting.

"Anyway," Lexa says and she bends forward to pick something up out of the cart in front of her feet.

 _Hell no Griffin, you are not checking out her ass_ , Clarke tells herself, _don't be such a perv_.

Lexa's upper body appears above the counter again, her arms loaded with cans of soda and beer. She struggles to get them on the counter and Clarke rushes forward to help her, shivering slightly when the tops of her fingers scrape against Lexa's arms as she takes some of the cans.

From the corner of her mouth, she sees Lexa press her teeth into her bottom lip softly, but now is not the time to get lost thinking about the tug at the bottom of her stomach, so instead she focuses on scanning Lexa's products. She scans bags of chips, cans of beer and Styrofoam cups.

"Wow, you didn't peg me the type to be throwing cheap liquor parties," she teases Lexa as she watches Lexa pack up the products in paper bags.

Lexa shakes her head, "Not really me as much as my roommate."

"You have a roommate?" Clarke asks, unable to contain her surprise. Lexa looks up at her and blinks, expression blank.

"Don't you?"

"I mean, yeah, but..."

"But you thought I was a rich bitch who didn't need a roommate?" Lexa finishes and Clarke blushes. Not exactly how she was planning to phrase it.

"I didn't mean to offend you," Clarke mumbles, looking down at her lap. She only looks up when Lexa places a hand upon hers and she sees Lexa smiling at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry. I kind of am."

Clarke snorts at Lexa's confession and Lexa watches her as if making Clarke laugh is the best thing she's done all day.

"As annoying as my roommate can be, I like to live with someone. It's easier," Lexa says, shrugging. Clarke nods.

"Yeah, I get that. I used to live with my best friend and when I didn’t live with him anymore, I found a roommate as quickly as possible. Living alone is really boring."

"What about your best friend? Did he move in with his partner?" Lexa asks, done packing up her products, but not making any attempt to leave.

"No, not really," Clarke says, swallowing the lump in her throat, "He actually passed away two years ago. That’s why I had to find a new roommate."

Clarke watches Lexa's eyes go wide in surprise and then sorrow, but she doesn't lean back like most people do when Clarke tells them about Wells. For some reason, people always seem to feel the need to distance themselves from Clarke when she tells them. They subtly take a step back or lean back into their chair. Clarke is pretty sure it’s done subconsciously, but she still notices every time.

Lexa doesn’t. Instead, she offers Clarke an understanding half-smile and nods.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she says, her voice softer than usual.

"It's okay, it was a while ago," Clarke says, trying to wave the heaviness away.

"Emotions don't have expiration dates," Lexa says with a shrug and Clarke thinks that is the most soothing thing she's heard in the two years since Wells' death. She wonders if Lexa’s lost someone as well, if that’s why she understands so well.

"Hey, I'm not trying to comfort you by inviting you to this stupid party, but if you don't have any plans this Saturday afternoon, you're welcome to come." Lexa nearly stumbles over her words as she invites Clarke to her party and Clarke smiles. If only she hadn't needed every weekend to work and pay tuition.

"I'd love to, but I've actually gotta work. Raincheck?"

Lexa smiles, "Sure. Have a good day, Clarke."

With a quick wink and a wave of her hand, Lexa disappears.

Clarke watches her go, partly because she's got nothing else to do and partly because it's been a while since she's met someone as incredible as Lexa.

 

  

 

Saturday is boring. It’s very hot outside, so almost everyone chooses sunbathing or sitting inside their house with the air-conditioning on over going grocery shopping. Clarke can’t blame them, but it doesn’t make her job any easier. She’s been sitting behind the counter since 9 o’clock this morning and by now her legs are practically glued to her chair from all the sweat. She regularly fans herself with one of the supermarket’s discount flyers, but it doesn’t help much.

Sketching isn’t as enjoyable as it usually is since Clarke has to wipe her hands on her shirt every few minutes to avoid the sweat to cause the pencil to slip through her fingers. Needless to say, Clarke wishes the day was over. But she’s got four hours left and she has no idea how the hell she’s gonna get through them.

Her face lights up when she sees a familiar figure making her way over to the counter.

Lexa is wearing a tank top that sticks to her body. Clarke can see the straps of Lexa's bra through the tank top, but she isn't sure if Lexa is aware of that and she doesn't wanna make her uncomfortable, so she tries not to stare. Instead, she focuses on Lexa's sun kissed face and her hair, that hangs in tangles over her shoulders. It's the first time Clarke has seen Lexa's hair look anything but neat and arranged. It's also the first time she's seen Lexa without make-up. She looks very good without it - Clarke notices a freckle just above Lexa's top lip she hadn't seen before.

"Hey," she says softly, a little taken aback at Lexa's beauty even when she looks so casual. The corners of Lexa's mouth curl up slightly as she greets Clarke.

"Hello Clarke," she says and Clarke stomach still flips at the way she speaks her name. As if it was what her lips were made for.

Suddenly a tall, broad-shouldered guy appears behind Lexa. He looks at Clarke a little gruffly and Clarke wonders a) what the hell she's done to piss him off and b) why the hell he's standing so close to Lexa.

Lexa must notice her staring, because she turns around and smiles at the guy behind him. She clears her throat, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Clarke, this is my brother Lincoln."

Clarke nods, relaxing a bit at the reassurance that Lincoln is not a boyfriend, or worse, some stranger groping Lexa from behind.

"Linc! Look what I found!" a girl with braided hair and a childlike smile on her face appears from an aisle to the right of Clarke’s till. She’s holding an enormous kitchen knife in her hands, one that’s packed in plastic but still looks kind of dangerous.

Clarke flinches a little at the sight of the huge knife, but both Lincoln and Lexa don’t move a muscle. Or, Lincoln does. He smiles.

“That’s really beautiful indeed, but we’ve already got one.”

The girl with the braided hair frowns and mumbles, “You’re just no fun.”

She disappears back into the aisle and comes back a few minutes later, empty-handed.

“So, what can I do for you today?” Clarke asks, focusing on Lexa instead of the braided girl, who seems to be making out with Lexa’s brother now. Lexa scrunches her brow.

“Sorry for them. Octavia and Lincoln are always all over each other,” she says, rolling her eyes. Clarke smiles.

“Must be annoying when he’s your brother.”

Lexa nods, “It’s a struggle I have to live with every day of my life. Please let this be a warning. Don’t do this to your siblings.”

Clarke laughs at Lexa, although she’s not sure whether Lexa is trying to be funny or just discreetly ask whether Clarke is single or not.

“I’m actually an only child,” she says and shoots Lexa a wink, “But my siblings wouldn’t have anything to fear from me.”

Lexa blushes as if she’s just been caught, which, to be honest, she should’ve expected because that hint was _not_ discreet at all.

She bites her lip as she looks down and says, “Good.”

Clarke looks at her just as Lexa looks up, right into Clarke’s eyes, and smiles. Clarke feels a grin of her own taking over her face when –

“Jesus Christ you love doves, can we just get the sunscreen and get going?” the girl with the braid asks, annoyance lacing her voice. Lexa blushes and leaves Clarke’s eyes in favor for looking at her basket, which contains some snacks, but no sunscreen. Lexa winces as she realizes she totally forgot to grab the thing she came for.

“I’ll be right back,” she says and disappears, leaving Clarke alone with Lincoln and Octavia.

Lincoln places the snacks in the basket Lexa left behind on Clarke’s counter and Clarke scans them, doing so as slowly as possible because she’s thankful for the distraction in the awkward silence.

When she looks up, Lincoln has abandoned his gruffly look for a smile, but Octavia looks at her with squinted eyes. She places both her hands on the counter in front of Clarke and looks at Clarke intimidatingly. Clarke has to admit she’s at least a little scared, knowing that this girl thinks of buying huge kitchen knives as a way to treat herself.

“Look, if you hurt her, I’ll know where to find you, okay?” Octavia threatens.

Clarke smiles, relieved that this is about Lexa rather than something else, but then she’s confused.

“Wait – isn’t that something the big brother says? Are you Lexa’s sibling as well?”

Lincoln chuckles and Octavia scrunches her face in an expression that shows she’d rather give up a thousand knives like the one she’d just wanted to buy than be Lexa’s sibling.

“No. I don’t do incest. That’s gross. I just thought someone should give you the talk. Lincoln thinks Lexa can handle it herself and I’m not really a fan of protective siblings, but I’ve seen the way she looks at you. And she’s been hurt before, so,” she points an accusing finger in Clarke’s direction, “you better be good to her.”

“Don’t worry,” Clarke smiles, but Octavia doesn’t seem convinced. Clarke thanks the gods Lexa chooses to appear at that exact moment and Octavia leans back to cross her arms over her chest.

Lexa notices Octavia’s squinted eyes, Lincolns smirk and the way Clarke leans back into her chair a little and knows immediately what happened. She rolls her eyes and mumbles, “Get out, you guys. You only embarrass me anyway.”

Both Octavia and Lincoln seem to be happy for the excuse to go make out outside of the store and they disappear quickly.

Lexa places the sunscreen on the counter and sighs, giving Clarke an apologetic glance, “Sorry again. Can’t even take them to the grocery store to get some last minute errands for the party.”

“It’s cool. I’m not that easy to scare off.”

“I’m glad,” Lexa says and she smiles at Clarke in the special way she did before. Clarke smiles back and then looks away to scan the sunscreen.

“So, are you excited for the party?”

Lexa shrugs, “I’m not really one for parties. The pool is nice though.”

“You have a pool? In your apartment?”

“Well, it’s not as much an apartment as it is a condo, but –”

Clarke’s eyes go wide, “You have a fucking condo?”

 “I do.”

“Wow,” Clarke says. She knew Lexa had money, but enough money to be living in a condo with a swimming pool at, what, 20?

“You should come check it out sometime,” Lexa says shyly. Clarke smiles because that is the cutest way anyone has ever invited her to go back to their place.

“That would be nice,” she says in a soft voice. Lexa grins.

“Cool. I gotta go now, make sure Lincoln and Octavia aren’t ruining anything.”

Clarke smiles, “Have fun.”

“Thank you,” Lexa says and with a smile and a wave of her hand, she’s gone again.

 

 

 

 Lexa shows up the next morning, surprising Clarke. It’s nine in the morning and Clarke’s pretty sure no one has ever voluntarily gotten up that early after a whole day of partying.

“Morning sunshine,” she says with a smirk as Lexa appears at her counter, basket full and face groggy.

“Shh,” she whispers, “Stop being so loud.”

“That bad?” Clarke asks a little more silently, referring to Lexa’s hangover. Lexa nods.

“I’m glad you’re working today, wouldn’t want to deal with your colleague right now,” she says as she massages her temples and starts unpacking her cart. Clarke’s counter fills up with painkillers and bottles of water.

Clarke chuckles at the thought of an interaction between Lexa and Murphy. She wonders how many times Lexa’s been at the store when it wasn’t Clarke’s shift and how disappointed Lexa was.

“Well _I’m_ glad you’re not wearing sunglasses, because this,” Clarke signals to Lexa’s face, “is quite the view.”

Lexa’s face is pale and her hair is ruffled up. She’s not in formal wear like she usually is, but is wearing denim shorts and an oversized t-shirt instead. Clarke thinks the outfit looks great on her. Lexa still looks as amazing as always, but more in a domestic way.

Lexa groans, “Someone sat on my sunglasses yesterday.”

“Wow, what did you ever do to the universe?” Clarke jokes. Lexa smiles.

“God knows.”

Clarke smiles at her and scans the products in silence. She wonders how many water bottles a human with a condo and probably a normally functioning water tap needs, until she scans the last product. It’s a tiny box she recognizes faintly from having stored it a while ago and she realizes vaguely that she put it on the shelves by the section of birth control, but only after she’s scanned the product she realizes that it’s a morning after pill.

And then she realizes that Lexa, kind, adorable, funny Lexa whom she’s been on-and-off flirting with for weeks is buying the morning after pill. She realizes that Lexa probably had unprotected sex last night.

There’s a sinking feeling in her stomach and she doesn’t know why, but she feels betrayed.  

However, she also realizes it’s incredibly rude to snoop and that it’s not her job to know what everybody buys. It’s just her job to sell it to them.

So she smiles at Lexa and mumbles the amount of money Lexa owes her. If Lexa notices something’s up, she doesn’t comment on it.

Clarke thinks Lexa’s probably used to getting morning after pills, because she doesn’t blush once as she packs up her linen bag. She acts like she’s getting something as innocent as the party snacks she came to get yesterday. Which, of course a morning after pill is innocent as well, it’s just – whatever. Clarke doesn’t really wanna think about it. Not at work, at least.

Instead, she watches Lexa pack up and half-heartedly waves at her as she leaves the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback so far, guys! I really appreciate it. 
> 
> I hope you like the story so far and if you want me to update (sooner), let me know in the comments :)


	3. just a cashier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm. so. sorry.
> 
> I know that I'm The Worst™ and this took waaay too long. I'm really fucking busy right now since I'm in my last year of high school and my teacher basically decided to throw assignments at me until I die.
> 
> Anyway, without further ado, here's the final chapter.

Clarke sits at her counter and thinks about Lexa all day. She can’t stop feeling betrayed.

Of course Lexa’s free to have sex with whomever she likes. If Lexa was anyone else, Clarke would’ve high-fived her and congratulated her on getting laid. When Raven comes back from a night spent at someone else’s place, Clarke makes her breakfast and pesters Raven into showing her a pic of whom she spent the night with.

However, with Lexa, Clarke feels sad. She thought Lexa liked her the way she liked Lexa. In one of their first encounters, Clarke had joked about how Lexa lit up her day. They’d both laughed, but truth be told, Lexa really has begun to lighten up Clarke’s days. She’s the highlight of Clarke’s shifts. With Lexa at her counter, Clarke always feels like she can relax for a while. For some reason, Lexa makes her feel comfortable.

From the way Lexa’s shoulders relax when Clarke smiles at her, Clarke had suspected Lexa felt the same. More than that, she’d assumed so because Lexa always flirts back just as enthusiastically and laughs at Clarke’s jokes, even when they are stupid puns she once read on the internet.

But now, Clarke’s not sure.

Of course Lexa could like her and have sex with people at the same time, Clarke just hadn’t thought that Lexa was the kind of person who would do that. Not that it’s bad. It just isn’t Clarke’s style. And if anything were to happen between her and Lexa, Clarke wouldn’t know if she could deal with Lexa having sex with other people.

What if Lexa has a boyfriend? What if she’s just flirting with Clarke for fun? With her looks and her money, the chance that she’s already got a boyfriend is huge. Who else would someone as strict and careful as Lexa have unprotected sex with?

Clarke imagines Lexa making out with a broad-shouldered guy and it makes her stomach drop.

She realizes she’s probably just making up these scenarios to find a reason to justify her sadness.

She does it anyway.

 

 

The next time Lexa shows up, Clarke can’t bring herself to smile as bright as she used to.

“Hello,” she answers as Lexa greets her and she watches as Lexa places her products on the till, talking about some boy in college who had hit on her by telling her how magnificent her ass was.

Clarke laughs, but it’s not completely heartfelt because now, the thought of other people hitting on Lexa makes her feel nauseous.

She’s disgusted by herself, to be frank. Since Finn, she’d promised herself she’d never become the jealous one in a relationship. She isn’t even in a relationship with Lexa and here she is, so jealous it makes her sick.

Lexa must notice that she’s too busy thinking to pay complete attention. She falls silent and bites her lip as Clarke scans the products.

She stays silent as she hands Clarke the cash, but her hand brushes Clarke’s as usual and Clarke feels some of the emptiness in her stomach disappear.

She looks up as she wishes Lexa a good day and for the first time in the past few hours, she smiles genuinely.

 

 

Clarke doesn’t work on Tuesday, but she still thinks about Lexa. She considers looking Lexa up on facebook. Although she has no idea what Lexa’s last name is, Lexa must live close and it’s not an all too common name so if she just types it into the search bar, Facebook should come up with at least a few decent results.

She almost types Lexa’s name into the search bar, but just as she places her fingers on the keyboard, the door to her apartment flies open and Raven walks in, ranting about a paper her professor didn’t give her an extension for.

Clarke closes the lid of her laptop and fixes Raven with a glass of coke, listening to what an asshole her professor is.

It wouldn’t do her any good to get more hung up on Lexa anyway. Scrolling through pictures of Lexa with a potential boyfriend would only drive her crazy.

 

 

The next few days, she can’t really bring herself to flirt with Lexa anymore.

Her breath still hitches the next day when Lexa walks into the store post-work out in shorts and a tank top, sweat on her biceps, to pick up some energy drinks, but when Lexa smiles flirtatiously, she just looks down and tries not to blush. She attempts to hide how ridiculously attracted she is to the flex of Lexa’s muscles when Lexa scratches the back of her neck.

Instead, she smiles politely and waves as Lexa walks out of the store.

 

 

Exactly a week after the party, Lexa walks into the store in formal wear and her usual smile, but this time she seems to notice something’s up. When Clarke is scanning Lexa’s products, she can see Lexa frowning from the corner of her eye.

She can’t bring herself to smile reassuringly and Lexa leaves with the frown still on her face.

She feels guilty all afternoon, though she knows she’s not obliged to make Lexa feel good. Then again, Lexa isn’t obliged to make Clarke feel good either. Lexa’s not obliged not to have unprotected sex at parties just because she flirts with the nosy local supermarket cashier sometimes.

It still hurts.

 

 

Clarke takes a step back and watches her manager close the door of her workplace. She waits patiently for him to lock the door, grateful that her shift is over.

She’s just worked an excruciatingly long shift. Not only did she start working immediately after she came home from college (which, by the way, has been a disaster as well), she also had to work until the end of the day because Murphy called in sick. Clarke would bet all the money she made today – which better be a lot – that he wasn’t ill, just either hungover or on a date with his girlfriend (what was her name again? Mori? Emora? Emori?).  

And as much as she doesn’t want to admit it, she thinks part of the reason her shift felt so long is Lexa. Or rather, Lexa’s absence. Clarke’s gotten so used to Lexa showing up at least once during her shift that it just feels wrong now that Lexa hasn’t showed.

It’s not like she’s worried or anything, but she does feel disappointed. Maybe Lexa goes to another supermarket, now that she can’t have fun flirting with the cashier anymore. Then again, Lexa didn’t start going to this particular supermarket to flirt with Clarke.

Clarke sighs. Maybe she’s reading too much into this. Probably. She does that a lot.

 

 

Kane, Clarke’s manager, coughs to get her attention. Clarke snaps her head up to look at him – she hadn’t even noticed she’d let her thoughts float her away.

“Thank you for filling in tonight. I’m going to make my way home now, I believe there’s someone waiting to talk to you,” he says with a small smile, nodding towards a slim figure that stands at the opposite of the street.

Clarke hadn’t noticed them because they’re standing in the shadows and the night is falling, making it hard to see the other side of the street. However, now that Clarke focuses, she sees long, brown hair, green-gray eyes and half-pursed lips.

“Lexa,” she mumbles, more to herself than to Kane, who’s already making his way to the parking lot. Instead of following his lead and starting her walk back home, Clarke crosses the street and makes her way over to where Lexa’s standing.

“Hey,” she says carefully, not wanting to scare Lexa, who hasn’t seen her approaching yet. Lexa looks up from her phone and pushes away from the wall she was slumped against.

“Hi,” she greets back. Her hands are fiddling with the bottom of her shirt and she’s biting her lip. Clarke feels bad when she notices how nervous Lexa is. As sad and betrayed she feels, it was never her intention to make Lexa feel uncomfortable.

“Didn’t need any groceries today?” she asks, trying to lighten up Lexa’s mood a little. Lexa smiles.

“No, actually, not today. Today, I’ve been thinking about something. Or actually, more like the past few days.”

Clarke cocks her head, “Yeah? Anything I can help you with?”

“Not really, I think I’ve figured it out already.”

“Sounds good,” Clarke says with a smile, having no idea where this is going. Lexa bites her lip again, seeming to be considering something.

“You see,” she starts, voice wavering a little, “I noticed you’ve been more distant lately. Not that you always have to be super cheery or anything. You’ve just been different. So I’ve been wondering when that started happening. And then I realized things started changing when I came here the day after the party. Right?”

“Right,” Clarke agrees reluctantly.

“More specifically, when I bought that morning after pill.”

Clarke scratches the back of her neck, wondering what the hell she’s going to tell Lexa. Usually, she’d never open up to someone she knows only from having seen them a few times, but this is Lexa. This is Lexa, whom she feels completely comfortable with, who’s come here specifically to talk to her.

Clarke knows Lexa a little and she gets the feeling Lexa doesn’t talk about her feelings quite easily. Yet here Lexa is, open and honest and _questioning_ and all Clarke wants to do is give her some answers.

“Yes,” she mumbles. And weirdly enough, Lexa smiles. Clarke wants to get angry and yell that she feels betrayed and _how the hell_ can Lexa smile when Clarke feels so bad? However, Clarke just crosses her arms and frowns a little as Lexa takes a step closer.

“That morning after pill wasn’t for me, Clarke, it was for Octavia – you know, my brother’s girlfriend. I don’t sleep with boys. In fact, I’m not sleeping with anyone,” Lexa says, triumphant but with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Clarke, who’s just been thrown from one belief to another, doesn’t uncross her arms, but lets the frown disappear from her face. She sighs, still not feeling completely comfortable.

“You don’t have to justify yourself to me, Lexa, I’m just a cashier.”

She looks up as Lexa shakes her head.

“You’re not,” she says, eyes wide and filled with something Clarke recognizes as affection, “You’re more than that, Clarke.”

The way Lexa speaks her name doesn’t fail to make Clarke shudder and she notices how the bad feeling she’s had the past week disappears from her stomach.

“Oh?” she teases, one eyebrow raised at Lexa as she steps closer.

Lexa blushes but doesn’t let her gaze travel from Clarke’s. Instead, she watches eagerly as Clarke takes one more step in her direction, invading her personal space. She licks her lips nervously as Clarke cups her face in her hands and when Clarke leans in, she bends forward just a little until their lips meet.

The kiss is soft, sweet and short. Clarke pulls back just as Lexa starts speeding up a bit, earning her a gentle scoff. She smiles and turns her face slightly to push her lips against Lexa’s from another angle. Lexa hooks her hands behind Clarke necks and pulls her in more, eager to have Clarke closer to her. Clarke, in her turn, lets her hands slide down to Lexa’s waist and draws Lexa in more so that their hipbones are touching. 

Lexa pulls away after a while. Clarke takes a step back to give her some space, but Lexa grabs her hand immediately, not wanting Clarke to go too far. Clarke smiles sweetly.

“So, if I ask you out on an actual date, will you stop stalking me at my work?” she asks cheekily. Lexa laughs. It’s one of the most glorious sounds Clarke has ever heard.

“Do you want me to?” she asks, pulling Clarke in by the hips.

“Fuck no,” Clarke mumbles as she kisses Lexa again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked that! Thank you so much for all the support you've given me, I really appreciate it. If you want you can check out my other works, I've got other clexa fics but also other wlw ships. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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